Loopholes
by Kurt's Anatomy
Summary: When Harvey finds two agreeable candidates for the open position, Kurt Hummel and Mike Ross, he hires them both. Little does he know that the new arrangement will cause more problems than any of them ever thought possible.
1. You Just Want To Be Seen

Chapter 1- You Just Want To Be Seen

* * *

Harvey Specter sat expectantly at his desk as the next plucky Harvard graduate shuffled into his office, desperate to secure a slot at the company and, more importantly, under his wing. It was bad enough that Jessica was making him interview the candidates, but was what even worse was how annoying they all were. One by one he watched as the embarrassments to the field of law sat and talked about how much they learnt while at Harvard Law and whatever Ivy League school they went to prior to getting their law degree.

That was not what Harvey wanted.

Sure, work and education was important, but he didn't want to be working closely with someone who was just going to be focused on the job all the time. He wanted someone he could raise from the ground like a newly constructed building, just as Jessica had done to him. He was a lot like his boss and he wanted someone like him to fill the empty associate spot.

Then in walked Kurt Hummel.

Even from his gait, Harvey could tell that Kurt was different to the others he had seen. He wasn't clutching his briefcase so tightly his hands were turning white. He wasn't walking too quickly to the proffered seat just so the awkward entrance would be over with already. He didn't even seem nervous, which Harvey both liked and disliked. He wanted his interviewees to be a little bit nervous; it showed fear. In some instances, fear of him would come in handy as it meant for easier bossing around. And that was always a bonus. But Kurt didn't show that and it intrigued Harvey.

What also intrigued Harvey was how turned on he was getting at just the sight of this man.

It was no surprise to anyone that Harvey Specter was attracted to men. Even though he was mostly seen in the company of women after business hours didn't mean that the opposite wasn't also true. Harvey had been with more than anyone's fair share of men but had never found one with whom he had formed a lasting relationship. Though he had never felt himself become so turned on just by _looking_ at someone. Especially when said someone was fully clothed and conducting himself in a formal, corporate manner.

New kink? Harvey rather thought so.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Specter. I'm Kurt Hummel."

 _Kurt Hummel_ , Harvey thought. _Well that name just rolls right off the tongue._

And that _voice_.

Harvey coughed as he realised that he had to conduct himself in a similar manner to Kurt.

"Good to meet you."

Kurt smirked. "You been doing this all day?"

Harvey groaned. "Three hours. Everyone exactly the same."

"Harvard is basically a droid factory," Kurt agreed with a nod.

Harvey chuckled. "I thought you'd defend them."

Kurt straightened his tie (surprisingly thick, Harvey noted with silent approval) and smiled. "Not to sound like I'm trying too hard to be edgy or like a fourteen year old goth, I'm not like the rest of them. I didn't come from piles of money and a Harvard legacy like they did. I worked for that place. And I used it. My classmates rather think that Harvard is a lifestyle whereas I don't take it too seriously."

"And what do you think about Harvard?" For the first time today, Harvey found himself fascinated. That was very rare. Usually, he wouldn't give a shit about anybody sitting in front of him, but something about Kurt resonated with him. And no, it wasn't just his wide mouth and take-no-prisoners glare.

Kurt frowned. "I must say, I wasn't expecting such a question."

"You'll come to learn that about me. I zag when you think I'll zig."

Kurt conceded that silently. "Harvard is a fantastic establishment and I respect its legacy and appreciate what it provided me, but I'm not going to pretend like there aren't flaws in the system. It gave me what I went for: a degree. It didn't completely change my life like those people out there are going to tell you. I went, I studied, I graduated. It's a university, not a cult. Although some of my peers might try and convince you otherwise. Now are you going to ask me any actual interview questions or are we going to sit here and trash Harvard and its produce? I'm good with both."

Harvey grinned and leaned back in his chair. "What else do I need to know? You were top of your class, you weren't sucked into the institution like everybody else I know and you don't take yourself too seriously. Unless there's anything else you want to say, expect to hear from me tomorrow."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "By you, I assume you mean your lovely assistant Donna whom you're probably not paying enough."

Harvey chuckled. "That's the one. Has she been telling you that I underpay her? I should show you her salary, it's enough to feed the entire population of a small country."

Kurt turned his head slightly. "You're both probably right. Well it was nice talking with you, Mr. Specter. I look forward to your call." Kurt shook the man's hand and a quick smirk washed over his face. He concealed it before Harvey noticed and turned away.

Harvey frowned. "How is it that you manage to both sound like a corporate robot and shit on the entire concept at the same time?"

Kurt giggled, still walking towards the door. "Practice, Mr. Specter. Practice."

Harvey didn't hear anything Kurt said after that. He had noticed the next wonder of the world: Kurt's ass.

* * *

Harvey was barely paying attention to the next interviewee. He was too caught up in thoughts of Kurt and the shortest and most informal interview he had ever taken part in. He had meant to ask Kurt the usual boring questions like where his passion for the law came from and all that other shit. But instead, he had been drawn into Kurt's personality and unique qualities. He wasn't a Harvard robot but he was also everything Harvard had made him at the same time. Astute, independent and fiery.

So when Mike Ross all but jogged into the room, he wasn't really noticing anything untoward. Expecting another corporate robot, Harvey looked up when he heard the sound of heavy breathing.

"Can't get here on time? Not such a great quality for a lawyer."

Mike's breathing gradually slowed down as he got it under control. He was leaning on the chair, his briefcase forgotten on the floor. "Sorry. I just needed a second."

"Great way to start an interview, kid."

Mike laughed breathlessly and stumbled backwards, knocking the briefcase open. The large pile of weed spilled on the floor, the packets luckily staying intact. Mike's head snapped up to Harvey, who sighed. "I promise, it's not mine."

"Says every drug dealer in New York."

Mike shook his head. "To tell you the truth, this is a job I'm doing. I needed some money, quickly. These don't belong to me, I just wanted to make some cash."

"And now you're here to interview for an associate position at a law firm?"

Mike's mouth flapped open and closed. "I…yes."

Harvey narrowed his eyes. "I tell you, not the best introduction, but I've recently learned not to judge people on first impressions. Take a seat, kid."

"Mike. Mike Ross."

"Well, Mike Ross, that sounds like a fake name but let's just roll with it. What did you think of Harvard?"

Mike gaped. "That's a question?"

"Well, considering I just asked it, I would say so."

Mike rubbed his palms on his knees. "It was…um…okay. Fine even."

Harvey blinked twice. "You didn't go to Harvard did you?

"No."

"Well, you do know that Pearson Hardman only accepts graduates of Harvard Law?"

Mike snorted. "Yeah, I should've figured as much. Elitism and entitlement is pretty abundant around here. I was in the waiting room for three seconds and I could feel the judgement around me."

"You are looking a little scruffy for a law interview."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Point proven. Everyone here is so concerned with image and reputation that they forget what's really important in life and it's a pile of bullshit. Besides, these people graduated because of their family money and I bet that I could be ten times the lawyer they are without any formal education."

Harvey eyed him suspiciously. "You think you could do better with no training? Prove it, genius."

Mike smirked. This was the part he could do. The LSAT was a piece of cake by now. "I notice you have the Barbri legal handbook. Open it to any page and read me something."

Harvey frowned. "I don't see how that'll help."

Mike shrugged. "I'll show you. Read me a passage."

Harvey sighed. "Civil liability associated with agency is based on several factors including -"

"- the deviation of the agent from his path, the reasonable inference of agency on behalf of the plaintiff, and the nature of the damages themselves." Mike smiled, the words rolling off his tongue as though he was staring at the book himself.

Harvey gaped. "How did you do that?"

Mike wiggled his fingers. "Magic," he gasped.

Harvey scoffed. "Don't fuck me with, Ross. You got this whole thing memorized or something?"

"Yep. I read it a few times, actually."

"The whole thing? A few times?"

"Cover to cover."

Harvey nodded, slightly more impressed than he was letting on. "That's just legal theory, anyone can learn that if they have a good memory. On my laptop is a database of every legal issue in existence. Go ahead and pick one."

Mike shrugged and took Harvey's seat at the laptop. He had an idea of how to prove himself and rolled with it. Clicking a few buttons, he nodded to Harvey. "Stock option backdating."

"Although backdating options is legal, violations arise related to disclosures under both FASB 123R and Internal Revenue Code Section 409A."

Mike grinned. "You forgot the Sarbanes Oxley Act of '02."

Harvey grinned back. "The statute of limitation renders Sarbanes Oxley moot post 2007."

Mike pretended to be flustered and squinted at the screen, clicking a key. "Not if you can find actions to cover up the violation, as established in the sixth circuit, May 2008."

Harvey shrugged. "Not bad. Though you are sitting with a database in front of you."

Mike coughed, ushering Harvey over. "I was playing Solitaire. Finish the game if you want, it's a good one."

Harvey shook his head in awe. "I don't understand. How do you know all of that?"

Mike figured he'd be better off being honest. He couldn't believe that Harvey had entertained his interview for this long, he might as well try to go all the way with it. "I…sometimes make money taking the LSAT and the Bar exam."

"And you passed? What am I saying, of course you did," Harvey chuckled, amused.

"Some dickhead challenged me that I couldn't do it. So I did it."

Harvey inhaled and thought about the fact he'd had two candidates back to back who he wanted to hire. Could he even hire both of them? Would Jessica allow him to? Could he even choose? "Okay, here's what you do. Ditch the drugs, clean up your game and wait for me to call you. I might, I might not. And try to learn about Harvard, you'll need that knowledge if you're going to fit in here."

Mike's eyes widened. "Wait, you're giving me the job?"

"Maybe. There's another strong candidate who actually _did_ go to law school. Harvard, as well. I want both of you, but I can only hire one of you. I'll have to take the day to think on it."

Mike nodded. "That's fair."

Harvey smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow. Since you didn't actually apply, just leave your number with Donna on the way out. And make sure she's knows you're not flirting with her or else she'll refuse to take it."

Mike shrugged. "It's cool, I don't swing that way."

Harvey raised an eyebrow. That was interesting. "Then don't worry about the flirting thing."

"It's not a problem?" Mike was shocked. Usually big city corporation liked their employees to be "a certain way" as Mike had come to discover.

"Not with me. It shouldn't be with anyone else at the firm, either."

Mike nodded. "This place doesn't seem too bad. Then again, it is considering hiring a guy with no degree for a law associate job."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Considering being the operative word here. Now go home, Mike. Try not to get arrested on the way out."

Mike saluted playfully. "No problem, boss." He left the room just as quickly as he had entered it.

"Donna, could you tell everyone else to go home please?"

" _You got your guy?"_ Donna said through the phone.

Harvey shrugged and then smirked to himself. "I think so."

* * *

A few hours later at his desk, Harvey sighed.

He sat at his laptop and booted up a blank email to Jessica.

 _Jessica,_

 _Found two candidates that I think are a good fit here. Any chance I can hire them both?_

 _Harvey._

Harvey figured that Jessica was at her computer because the reply came within minutes.

 _I didn't think you'd find one that you liked, never mind two. If you really think both are needed, hire them both. But one is coming out of your personal finances, Harvey._

Harvey chuckled. Was he really going to do this? Hire one non-graduate and pay the other with his own money? He certainly had the money to do so and still live his comfortable lifestyle, but was it worth it?

The image of Kurt Hummel's stellar ass came into Harvey's mind and he grinned, typing out his reply to Jessica.

 _I'll hire them both._

 _Then it's done_ , came Jessica's reply.

Harvey needed to call them both before he changed his mind. He dialed Mike first, him being the one Harvey was less sure about. The quicker he did this, the more at ease he would be.

" _Hello?_ "

"Mike?"

" _Harvey Specter? Calling with the good news, I presume?"_

"Someone's a cocky little shit. But yeah, you're hired. Be ready to start on Monday and please have a better suit for me then. Remember what I said about what you needed to do earlier."

" _Ditch the drugs, clean myself up, wait for you call and learn about Harvard._ _Got it._ "

Harvey shook his head, smiling. "I expect you at eight-thirty on Monday, Mike."

" _Bet it was hard letting the other guy down._ "

"Actually, I hired him too."

" _Good, at least I'll have some competition."_

"Now, this guy is good. And actually got his degree so don't get too complacent."

" _Noted. Thank you, Harvey. For giving me an opportunity when nobody else would. That really means a lot to me."_

"Don't turn into a Lifetime movie now, Mike. See you Monday."

" _Bye, Harvey."_

Harvey didn't even bother putting the phone down before calling Kurt.

"Kurt Hummel?"

" _Mr. Specter, I presume. I didn't expect your call until tomorrow."_

Harvey smiled. "Oh, well it can wait until then if you want…"

" _Don't be stupid, I want to hear the good news sooner rather than later._ "

"How do you know it's good news?"

" _Donna saw you checking out my ass as I left the room. I just put two and two together."_

"Remind me to half her salary on Monday at eight-thirty."

" _So I did get the job?_ "

Harvey nodded even though Kurt couldn't see him. "You did. I also hired another associate, so be ready for some healthy competition. And make sure you brush up on your movie quotes. That's important.

" _Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."_

Harvey chuckled. "Good. You'll fit right in at Pearson Hardman."

" _Thanks, Mr. Specter."_

"Kurt?"

" _Yes?"_

"Call me Harvey on Monday, okay? Mr. Specter is way too formal."

" _I'll make a note. Thanks, Harvey. See you Monday."_

"See you Monday, Kurt."

Harvey hung up, sighing as he ran a hand down his face.

Monday would be a very difficult day.


	2. First Days And Escapades

Chapter 2- First Days And Escapades

* * *

And true to form, Monday was the most stressful day Harvey had experienced in a while.

Kurt had arrived a few minutes before eight, chatting to Donna as though he had been there for years. Donna was eagerly nodding to his words and Harvey figured that somebody Donna liked couldn't be too much of a bad hire, even though he knew that Kurt was not going to disappoint him.

Mike was a few minutes the other side of the deadline, slipping into Harvey's office whilst he was turned around. Kurt eyed him suspiciously and inched up the sofa as Mike sat down silently.

"Good morning, Mike."

Mike flinched. "Uh…good morning, Mr. Specter. Sorry I'm a little late."

"I can see you through the window, Mike. Also don't you think I'd notice if you weren't here when there's literally one other person in the room when I started speaking?"

"I guess so, yeah," Mike nodded.

"You guess so. That's a great start. Anyway, now that you're here, we _should_ start. Mike Ross, this is Kurt Hummel, your fellow associate. You two are both competing and working as a team and, trust me, that dynamic is gonna save your asses every single day. Though I will not tolerate squabbling, running to me with "Mike said this…" or "Kurt did this…". You're associates now, this is the big leagues, so deal with it yourselves. No asking Donna to settle disputes for you. Got it?"

Both nodded wordlessly.

"Now, Kurt if you don't mind, I'd like a word with Mike."

"Of course," Kurt bowed his head politely as he left the room, chatting with Donna in the meantime.

"Harvey, look, I know I was late but my bike, I…"

"Save it. Wait, you ride a bike to a law office? God, you need a car quickly. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to make sure you knew how to handle things today. Your fake backstory, for one."

Mike nodded. "I'm a Harvard Law graduate, studied at Georgetown before that. Don't tell anybody personal information that they could use to poke potential holes in my story. I got it, Harvey."

"You seem to be dealing fine with the prospect of having to bullshit your way through a career in law."

"I know things. From books that I've read. I've taken the LSAT and scored exceptionally well. I won't be bullshitting completely."

"And what about those things that you can't learn from books? Things like filing motions and things that everybody else was taught in law school? You'd better not embarrass me, Mike. If I hear that my associate doesn't know what he's doing, rethinking this position is going to be very easy for me."

"I don't respond well to threats."

"It's not a threat unless you fuck up. So don't. You can go."

When Mike left the room, Kurt was talking to a woman who Mike would very much like to get to know. He heard Kurt at the tail end of a sentence.

"...so you and Donna should totally come over for brunch one weekend, I'd love to have you." Kurt turned and saw Mike. "Oh, Mike, you can come too, I guess."

Mike raised his eyebrows quickly. "Uh, thanks?"

Kurt smirked. "Hmm, sure." He turned back to Rachel. "So let me know when you guys are free and I'll set it up."

Rachel smiled neutrally at Mike. "Harvey asked me to show you guys around. I walk a fast pace, go through everything once so you'd better be listening first time. I will not repeat anything. You're lawyers, you shouldn't need coddling. Ready? Let's go."

Rachel walked ahead of them, at the fast pace she had mentioned, talking them through the proceedings at Pearson Hardman. Everything was well laid out and generally didn't need going through, but Mike appreciated it all the same.

It was Kurt who noticed his staring.

"Hey, stop staring at her ass. She's your colleague and it's also degrading."

Mike rolled his eyes. "I might like her." He wasn't going to admit to Kurt that he was having a moment of anxiety about being caught up in this world which he had known nothing about just twenty-four hours ago.

Kurt smirked. "She's gay, dude. Like, really gay." Kurt pointed to Donna, who waggled her fingers in a sassy wave as she stood outside Harvey's office. Mike raised his eyebrows, smirking momentarily.

"Damn," Mike whispered under his breath. It wasn't as though as he was too disappointed, but better for Kurt to think that he liked Rachel rather than him just being a pervert. Which he absolutely wasn't? But why did he care so much about what Kurt thought about him? Probably because Kurt was his colleague and competition and he had to stay in good standing with him because that way he would look better to Harvey.

Yeah, that was it.

It wasn't like he was also checking out Kurt whenever he could.

Nope. Not even a little bit.

"Mike?"

Mike blinked. Kurt and Rachel were standing looking at him as though he was dead. Which he might be if Harvey caught him dawdling. "Sorry. Coming."

Rachel shook her head.

By the end of the tour, Kurt had become well acquainted with the layout of the offices and was pleased with what he had seen. So far, everything was well organised and arranged by matters of importance, besides the corner offices of course. Louis Litt was stationed near the first years for everybody's convenience.

Apart from Kurt's, apparently.

"Kurt Hummel...you come well-regarded from Harvard, I must say."

Kurt looked up, having parted ways with Rachel. Mike was stood behind him, unsure. Louis wasn't even looking in his direction. "Mr. Litt. Pleasure to meet you."

Louis gave him a short nod. "Anyway, I was wondering why you were just standing around."

Kurt frowned. "We were just given the tour," he replied, gesturing to Mike behind him. Again, Louis ignored him. "Rachel is literally still walking away. I'm not 'standing around'."

"Is that backtalk? You should know I don't appreciate backtalk from a first year."

Kurt jutted his hip out. "You should know, Mr. Litt, with all due respect, I'm not into being tricked into thinking I did something that I didn't do. I'm not an idiot, I know that you're testing my backbone. Word on the street is that you do this to everyone who starts working here in order to scope out whether or not they have the potential to handle it. And even though this is a test, I will not accept you talking to me like that. First day or not, I'm not afraid to challenge you if I think something you're doing is out of line."

Mike was aghast. Kurt had the audacity to talk to Louis like that even though it was his first day and he hadn't even been there for a whole hour yet."

But Louis looked pleased. "You'll do fine here, Mr. Hummel. And ah, Mr. Ross. You just keep doing what you're doing."

Mike chuckled bemusedly as Louis walked past them. "That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

Kurt smirked. "I see right through that man. This is going to be a lot of fun."

A voice interrupted Mike's reply. "Mr. Ross? A moment?"

Jessica Pearson stood behind them, tall and imposing in her stature. Kurt was in awe of her from her legal standing alone, but her body language and presence left nothing to be desired. She was a powerful woman and wasn't going to let anybody stop her from rising to her fullest potential, which Kurt suspected she had not even reached yet.

Mike gaped, flustered. "Oh, of course." _Really, Ross? Busted already? Pull it together, dude._

Kurt just smiled. "I'll see you later, Mike."

Mike followed Jessica in her office, gulping as she closed the door.

Meanwhile, down the hall, Donna shut Harvey's office door, walking over to the window. "I hope you know what you're doing here."

Harvey shrugged. "Don't I always?"

"I don't know, Harvey, this time it seems different. You never express interest in any interviewees and suddenly you've got two guys working for you. One of them you're paying out of your own pocket."

Harvey frowned. "How do you even...never mind. You're Donna."

"I'm Donna," she echoed with a confident nod.

"What do you think of them?" Harvey wondered, finishing up an email before giving Donna his undivided attention.

Donna smiled. "Kurt's great. He's sharp, polished and the kid looks like he could model high end fashion on the catwalk. Best one you've ever picked so far."

Harvey smirked. "And Mike?"

Donna's smile faded slightly. "Less impressive. He clearly doesn't know as much as he thinks he does and looks like a lost lamb walking around these offices. I was going to ask you why you picked him, actually. Surely he didn't impress you that much at interview?"

Harvey chuckled. "Actually, he sort of did. He was very...quick. Hadn't prepared anything, clearly, but answered everything I asked and kept on his toes. I have an instinct about him."

"Well, I'm not going to be the one to question your hiring patterns, you best tell the kid he's got to brush up on his stuff quickly or it'll be like his college education was completely worthless. He's going to drown, Harvey."

Harvey stayed quiet. "He'll be fine. Kurt's going to look out for him."

"Aren't they competing? Kurt's a shark. That's how I know he's a perfect fit for you."

"I did good," Harvey smirked.

Donna rolled her eyes. "That's my cue to leave and do the job you're paying me to do. I'll look out for them, Harvey, don't worry about that. Rachel will too."

"I appreciate it," Harvey smiled as she left.

He sat with all of his files in front of him, exhaling as he wondered if the mess he had gotten himself into was going to be worth the mountains of trouble that were going to come his way soon enough. All Mike had to do was slip up just once and the game was up. Kurt would be fine, but Mike wouldn't bounce back from something like that. Not yet, anyway. Harvey had some building to do.

"I must say, Mr. Ross," Jessica Pearson hummed as she stared into the eyes of Mike Ross, "I was surprised when Harvey put forth a second recommendation for the position."

Mike shrugged. "I didn't think it was anything too unusual."

"When he sent me the files, I compared you and Mr. Hummel. On paper, he's the better hire, by far. You scraped by at Harvard despite an impressive LSAT score. Which led me to believe that your interview was stellar and I wanted to see that in person for myself."

Mike knew nothing about his supposed file which was where his quick-firing responses were going to come in handy. Harvey hadn't filled him in, which annoyed him slightly. "Admittedly, I don't test immensely well. I'm much more practical and I'm better in person."

"So it seems," Jessica smiled and Mike couldn't decipher what she was thinking like he usually could with people. "Tell me about yourself, Mr. Ross."

"Mike," he corrected, "and there's not a great deal to tell. My parents died when I was young, I was raised by my grandmother. I've always wanted to be in law ever since I saw _12 Angry Men_."

Jessica smirked. "Now if that's what you said to Harvey no wonder he expanded his selection number."

"Big movie fan?"

"Huge."

Mike figured that was the word to apply to Harvey. He seemed to do everything larger than life. His lexicon, his style choices, the persona he applied to himself. Mike was sure there was a different, softer person underneath all of that. It was something of himself that he recognised in Harvey. And he was excited to figure out if his first hunch was correct. He knew that working at Pearson Hardman was going to be a challenge, but it was one that he was ready to take on. He could do this. So what if he hadn't studied at some fancy college? He knew the stuff and he would learn the rest as he went along.

"So is there anything else you wanted?" Mike tried his best not to sound rude or impatient and he wasn't sure how he sounded.

Jessica didn't seem annoyed, so that was a good sign. "I just wanted a chat. I'll be meeting with Mr. Hummel after lunch. Have a good first day, Mike. And my door is always open for you."

That sounded somewhat ominous to Mike but he waved it away. _She's being nice to you, idiot. Don't mistake that for something that it's not._

And at the end of the day, Mike would've taken a meeting with Jessica over an abrupt confrontation with Louis Litt.

When work was finished, Kurt and Mike reconvened in Harvey's office for a breakdown of their days. They had been pretty similar, although Louis had piled extra work on Mike's desk, things that he didn't know how to do. Kurt had covered for him and taken care of some of the finickier things that he had learned at Harvard, with an additional piece of advice to Mike to actually learn some of these things. Kurt had shown him how to do things and Mike was well on his way to being able to do them.

"How did it go today?" Harvey's question was more aimed at Mike.

Mike shrugged. "Good. Nobody seems to suspect anything."

"Good, that means you did the bare minimum. Exactly what I expected. How about you, Kurt?"

Kurt smiled. "It was excellent, actually. I made some friends, had a nice meeting with Jessica, let Louis Litt know that he can't intimidate me and I realised I actually like busywork."

Harvey chuckled. "Nobody likes busywork."

"That's why they give it all to me." Kurt didn't give Mike a side-eye, but Mike felt it nonetheless.

"So a good day overall then," Harvey clapped his hands. "Now that's just day one. It gets harder from here. I have a meeting with a big client tomorrow that I want you both to sit in on. I'll excuse you from anything Louis might ask you to do. You'll take notes and I'll want your strategies for how to handle him afterwards, go it?" Off their nods, Harvey nodded back. "Okay. You can both go home. Oh, and Mike? Get here earlier tomorrow, okay?"

Mike nodded as they turned and left the office.

Kurt stopped him as they said goodbye to Donna. "Mike? You wanna go for a few drinks? Just to get to know each other? We're going to be going through this whole thing together, I figured it might be nice to properly introduce ourselves."

Mike didn't hesitate in agreeing.

* * *

The two sat at a table in a crowded bar called The Lime as Kurt ordered two vodka tonics.

"I don't know what you drink."

"Vodka's good," Mike said, shuffling in his seat."

"Then you're good with me." Kurt's eyes twinkled slightly and Mike couldn't help but notice how adorable it was.

Their drinks arrived and Kurt drained his glass in one fluid motion as Mike took a quick sip. Mike raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"I went through Harvard Law, Mike, I'm no stranger to needing a glass to take the edge off. Of course, you'd know all about that, too."

Mike chuckled. "Yeah. I can definitely empathise."

Kurt narrowed his eyes but let it go. "So, tell me something about you that nobody else knows."

"Really? That's how we're doing this? Like a ninth grade sleepover?"

"Say what you want, but ninth grader really know how to get information out of people."

Mike thought about it. "Okay. I used to write spoilers in the front of library books and then leave them for people I hated to find."

Kurt laughed at that, a musical sound that chimed through the busy air. "I meant something deeper, Mike, although I do appreciate how petty that is."

" _Fine_. Let's see...okay, how about this. I wonder if my dead parents are proud of me for becoming a lawyer, or if they wanted me to do something less corrupt."

Kurt gaped and Mike quickly backtracked.

"Oh, that was a joke. My parents _are_ dead, but I didn't mean to say it so flippantly and I—."

"Mike," Kurt interjected. "Calm down. I was just...that was going to be my one, too."

Mike tilted his head. "How long?"

"Mom died when I was nine, cancer. Dad when I was seventeen, heart attack."

"Yikes."

"What about you?"

"Both when I was eleven. Car crash."

Kurt unconsciously reached out a hand and stroked it across Mike's. "I'm sorry."

Mike looked down at it but Kurt didn't flinch. "Me too. It is what it is, I guess. Who raised you?"

"When my dad got sick and it wasn't looking so good, I got emancipated. He raised me the best he could until then, though."

"My grandmother," Mike answered to Kurt's unspoken question. "She's the best person I know."

"I assume she's very proud of you."

"I think she is. She's proud of me for remembering to take my shoes off as I enter the apartment, so I'm not sure what her levels of pride actually are."

Kurt grinned. "That _is_ important." He realised that he was still touching Mike's hand. After one last stroke of his thumb, he gently pulled it away, leaving Mike wishing he hadn't done so. "Does she know about what exactly you're doing?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

Kurt clasped his own hands together. He had been waiting for this moment all day and it was partly the reason he had asked Mike to drinks, so that he could reveal that he knew the very thing Mike was most worried about everybody else finding out. But Kurt thought it was rather obvious.

"That you're pretending to be a lawyer."


	3. Real Talk

Chapter 3- Real Talk

"Now I _really_ don't understand what you mean."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh _please_ , Mike, you don't have to play dumb with me. You're much too smart for that. And so am I, so it's discrediting us both for you to keep lying."

Mike shifted in his seat. He sighed. "Fine. I'm not actually a qualified lawyer."

Kurt nodded. "I'm not sure whether I'm repulsed or impressed."

"Explain."

"Well, first off, you're cheating the legal system which could face you going to jail for fraud and also getting Harvey disbarred for hiring someone without them passing the BAR. Not to mention the amount of ethical violations we'll be creating whenever you interact with a client.

"On the other hand, you managed to attain a job at the city's most prestigious law firm without going to college to study it. That's something I don't think I could have done. I know a lot about a lot of things, but I'm not a very good bullshitter."

Mike smirked. "Then I think you picked the wrong profession."

"You might say that. But I deal in facts. I don't care for technicalities and sometimes even emotional reasoning hinders what we know about the law. The system runs on certain variables and if those variables don't add up, then it's going to my job to deliver the justice."

Miked nodded, impressed. "That's one hell of a speech. But I still don't understand how you figured it out. My education is listed on my file and everyone's under the impression that I went to Harvard."

Kurt chuckled softly. Mike pretended not to notice how cute the sound was. "I'm not everyone when it comes to observation. I grew up with barely any friends, Mike, so I spent a lot of time on the peripheral. Waiting, watching, absorbing. I learned a lot about people I'd never even spoken to just by being around them. I learned to identify paralinguistic and prosodic features simply by being alone. It certainly helps in regards to the law."

"You're a dork."

"And yet," Kurt's eyes lighted up, " that very facet of my character is going to be the thing that saves your ass from being eaten by the lions."

Mike paused. "The lions are going to...eat my ass?"

Kurt looked aghast. "Don't be crude. I just mean that I'm going to help you, Mike."

"Why? Isn't is 'an ethical violation' for you to cover for me? Surely you're at risk too here."

"I realised that about nine o'clock this morning and spent the day thinking it over. I almost turned you in to Jessica and then the BAR Association before we'd even broken for lunch. But then I reconsidered.

"To this day, I don't know how you managed to secure such a coveted position, but Harvey must have seen something in you. I see something in you. There's a spark there, a desire to help people. And maybe you weren't afforded the same natural advantages as the rest of us, does that mean you should be exempt from trying to help people? I think judging based on that goes against the very thing we swear to protect."

"Oh, you're _good_ ," Mike quickly learned that Kurt was a superhuman speaker. He had the words, the sophisticated lexicon, but he also had the timbre, the charm, the natural charisma it took to speak. With the right rhetoric, Kurt could probably convince anybody of anything he wanted.

Kurt shrugged, somehow managing not to appear smug. "I know. Which is why we're not going to get caught. I'll have a meeting with Harvey tomorrow morning before the briefing, explaining that I know the situation and that you didn't tell me a thing, but that I'm going to help you. I know that Donna's already watching your back when it comes to the suspicions anybody might have. Rachel's going to pitch in with the admin stuff, being the paralegal on our side. And I'm going to start tutoring you. In the law, ethics, things I learned at law school, the history of Harvard itself. Because that's where they would catch you, if it all. If Louis Litt surprises you with a question about a faculty member or about something specific to Harvard, we're busted."

"You seem to have this all planned."

Kurt looked into the distance. "That's why I brought you here, Mike. I figured if I was going to plan to risk my career for you, I wanted you to be worth it."

Mike smiled. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be worth that."

Kurt tilted his head. "I disagree. We still don't know each other very well, but you have potential. The law isn't completely about academics. We need to be people of good character, who know about the world. You've been through hell and you know the worst of what this world has to offer. I think you have a natural proclivity for helping people. Although I do have a question."

Mike vibrated as he laughed. "I think we've shared enough about ourselves to answer pretty much anything."

"How did you get an interview here?"

Mike paused for a moment. "Total honesty, right?"

"I expect nothing less."

"I needed a place to hide. I was...doing a job for someone for some quick rent cash. And I saw a cop standing around so I walked into the first room I saw. I sat down in front of Harvey and the rest is history."

Kurt gaped. "You're a drug dealer."

"Pardon?"

"I'm right, aren't I? The only thing you could have been doing at a place as fancy as that for some quick cash is either drug delivery of prostitution."

"And you think drug dealer is the only possible option?"

"So you're a prostitute?"

"I never said that, I just asked you what you thought. You answered for me."

"Huh," Kurt replied. "You _do_ have some potential."

"Like you said, not everyone could be here without a law degree. I'm pretty special."

Kurt appraised him with a smirk. "I'm sure you are."

"I'm sure you'll find out in the weeks to come. Everyone who's met me pretty much agrees."

"Except Louis Litt."

"He doesn't like me?" Mike asked, aghast.

"You haven't proven yourself yet. He's been giving you the cold shoulder so you're confront him about his hostility, observantly like a lawyer would. Like a lawyer _should_. Little tip for you: watch _everything_ around you. Take some time to look around you. Notice the background details, it'll help you massively.

"So how about you come over to my place twice a week for two hours and we'll study the law. We can go over trials, motions, anything you need to know. I'll check the details you already know, I'll get you up to scratch before you know it."

Mike smiled. "Thanks, Kurt. I really appreciate it. I know that it couldn't have been easy to choose to help me."

Kurt put his bag over his shoulder, signalling the end of their talk. "It wasn't. But I think you just might be the worth the trouble, Mike Ross. By the way, your name sounds fake. Just in case anyone asks you about it. If they try, try Michael, it sounds a lot less like a temporary alias than Mike." Kurt placed a hand on Mike's shoulder as he stopped next to him. "It was really nice talking to you. See you tomorrow, Mike."

And Mike, like Harvey had done, like everybody had done, watched him walk away, wondering how the hell he was going to resist making a move on Kurt Hummel.


End file.
